LeakFrog Water Alarm

A couple years ago, we had a hot water pipe spring a leak under the sink of
our upstairs garage apartment. We had no idea that the leak had occurred because
there wasn’t an obvious drip down the inside walls of the garage. In fact, there
was no warning at all. Had we discovered the leak at that early
"dripping" stage, we would have been saved the $4600 insurance claim that
resulted when the pipe finally burst – flooding the upstairs hardwood floors,
the insulation in the wall, the insulation under the floor and the contents of
the garage below. Aye Carumba!

Just to show that occurrences like this aren’t a "lightning strikes once"
situation, it was just a year ago that I noticed more than an inch of water
standing in the pan under our hot water heater. The only reason I even noticed
it was because our hot water heater sits elevated in the laundry room, and I was
starting a load of clothes. If it hadn’t been for the pan underneath, I might
not have even realized what was happening. As it was, Steve had to turn off the
heater’s water line until a plumber’s visit confirmed that the hot water heater
was leaking and needed replacement.

I really think that we would have been dropped if we filed
another water damage claim with our insurance carrier. As it was, the water
claim upstairs raised our premium to an uncomfortable
level.

And then, just this year, our dishwasher started leaking because a freaking rat came up from under the house and chewed through a PVC line! Thank goodness we noticed the water seeping out from under the dishwasher as it was running before the whole kitchen was flooded. Honestly, things like this just keep happening.

Did you realize that next to fire, water is your home’s greatest enemy?
Whether it be a weak spot in the roof that admits "a little bit" of rain in a
storm, a central heat and air unit in the attic with inadequate drainage, a weak
hose on the back of a washing machine that sometimes drips, a wax seal
deteriorating under a toilet, or a waterbed with a slow leak, there are so
many ways that water can wreak havoc.

Everyone thinks to put in multiple fire detectors and to test them regularly,
but I have to admit that before getting the
LeakFrog Water Alarm I’ll
be discussing today, I didn’t realize that there was also a similar product for
water detection.

I am a little LeakFrog short and stout, at the first sign of
water I’ll give you a shout!

The LeakFrog measures approximately 3" x 3" and has a big grin plastered on
its cartoonish face. I think most of you know that green is my favorite color,
but did you know that I really like frogs, too? Out of the box, this
device was already on my good side. I was just hoping it would work as
advertised…

He looks so friendly and quiet – but wait until he finds water…!

Similar to a fire alarm’s test button, there is a test button on the
LeakFrog’s back. The first thing I did right out of the box was press this
button – which resulted in an ear splitting fifteen long sequence of
BEEP!s. Just as monthly tests should be performed on fire detectors,
they should also be done on the LeakFrog. Its three included AAA batteries
should last approximately a year. For proper operation, the LeakFrog should be
placed indoors with the flat side down, anywhere that there is a potential for
water to leak.

So I had established that the LeakFrog was loud, but was it accurate? Would
it actually alert me to a water spill as it occurred? In order to find out, I
had a couple of tests to perform…

The first test was the simplest – I barely moistened two of my fingers and
touched them to the two metal sensors on the LeakFrog’s bottom. Immediately, the
loud beeps began…so far so good. Then I tried one moist finger with one dry
each touching a sensor – with the same results. Sidebar: the loud beeping drove
my two dogs insane every time it started up!

Next I placed the LeakFrog in a plate and started adding drops of water. This
time, water had to touch both sensors, but once it did – the loud beeping began
immediately. Instead of stoping after fifteen beeps or so, the LeakFrog
continued to beep incessantly until it was removed from the water.

The LeakFrog is a nifty product that has one simple purpose – notifying its
user of leaks, and it performs quite well. I keep mine on the
window seat where I have quite a few plants, because I am notorious for
over-watering them to the point where water will overflow their plastic trays,
spilling onto the wood shelf. This leakage usually manifests long after I have
walked away, satisfied that everything is okay.

Can you spot the frog?

Every home has areas that are vulnerable to water. The LeakFrog is a simple
and fast way to make sure that should a leak occur, you’ll be aware of
the problem. At this price, several can be purchased and kept around the home –
waiting to notify their owner of an inevitable leak.

The LeakFrog Water Alarm
is available from Ideative, Inc..